1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to canes, and more particularly walking canes for the visually disabled.
2. Prior Art
Blind or visually handicapped people walk with a cane to enable them to sense an obstacle or a potentially dangerous condition before them. Typically, a cane user swings the cane from side to side. The cane may also be tapped against the ground as the user swings the cane back and forth.
The tapping permits the user to appreciate through sound and tactile response, what sort of terrain is being traversed. The cane must not be designed so as to allow it to get caught in a crack in a sidewalk or stuck in some sort of an obstacle. The tips of these canes need to be replaced on a regular basis because they wear out. The tips of these canes also need to provide accurate information to the user as clearly and efficiently as possible.
Some canes for the visually handicapped have distal tips which may have wheels thereon. Such canes are shown in U.S. Pat. No. 1,527,239 to Vaughan et al. and U.S. Pat. No. 2,379,426 to Edstrom. Use of such wheels however, may dampen the response that a user may get by having a cane tip which actually strikes and rubs against the terrain.
Other cane arrangements, are shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,301,703 to Kahn, wherein the cane includes a hemispherical shell at its distalmost end. A further patent to Kahn, is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,485,862, disclosing a cane with a spherical tip which tip is separable along its equator, for splitting the sphere into a lower hemisphere and an upper hemisphere.
The prior art appears replete with cane tips of a circular or spherical configuration.
It is an object of the present invention, to provide a cane assembly which will maximize the audible end tactile response to a user thereof.
It is yet a further object of the present invention, to provide a cane assembly having an improved distalmost tip to maximize the contact area between the tip and the terrain.
It is still yet a further object of the present invention, to provide a cane handle which will maximize the sensory transmission between the cane and the hand of the user.